Apr 28, 2014

This week will be a crazy one for me, and I’m off to a rough
start after a weekend full of birthday celebrations for friends and family
(read: wine, pizza, cupcakes, and some fried food too!)

Now for this week….well Wednesday is my wedding anniversary!
I’m not going to stress about what I “can or can’t” eat, I’m going to enjoy
myself and the time I’m spending with my husband, and if that means a little
indulging then so be it! Thursday I’m traveling to NYC for the day, then back
for a work event Thursday night, then I’m off from work on Friday to have a
nice long weekend with my husband.

This throws a bit of a wrench into my regimen, but I’m not
going to let it stop me from making the best decisions I can throughout the
week. One meal at a time, one day at a
time, because life happens and that’s all we can do, right? This is actually one of the reasons that I
love the 21 day fix so much…it has taught me so much about how to eat the right
foods and the right portions that I feel so much more confident about eating
when I’m not in my element, when before I’d be stressed to the max about
calories and eating out! This is NOT a diet, it's a lifestyle!

I’ll be happy if I can come out of this week without a gain,
so that’s my goal, just maintain and make smart choices!

Apr 25, 2014

Ahhh! It’s been way too long since my last post, I know,
epic blog fail!

I hope you’ll forgive me when you see the awesomeness I’m
about to present though…the results from my second round of the 21 day fix!

First, I’ll share my personal results, and if you can
remember, I had a rough week 2 and actually gained weight, so I wasn’t
expecting to see huge numbers this round, but I was pleasantly surprised!

Here’s my totals:

I lost 11.5 inches!!!

And the scale!? Down 8.2 pounds!!

Woot woot!

(I'm super excited about those baby abs starting to pop a bit, but I have a LOT of work to do still!)

I had admittedly gained a few pounds back the weekend before
I started this round, but all together I’m down over 13 pounds after my second
round, and I couldn't be more pleased with my results!

I made the mistake of taking a break for about 3 weeks
in-between my 2 rounds, and definitely went a bit wild that last week, knowing
that I’d be starting the new round soon, so this time around there will be NO
BREAKS. That’s right, I started a new
round right away on Monday! After all, this is NOT a diet, it’s a lifestyle
change!

I’m not following the workouts to a T since I’m trying to
get in more running and PUMP workouts, but I’m following the eating plan still
and I’m happy with the way this week has gone.

So now? The BIG numbers! I had quite a few women in my group
this round that started on 3/31, and here are some of their results after 21
days:

Molly: -9 lbs

Dawn: -10.4 lbs

Kim: -5.5 lbs

Melissa: -6 lbs

Jenn: -9 lbs

Jen: -3 lbs

Lindsey: -6 lbs

Lisa: -5.5 lbs

There’s quite a big variable in those numbers, so I ask you
to remember that everyone’s body is different, and everyone is at different
stages in their journeys, some with more weight to lose than others. I also want to point out that some people
were drinking Shakeology as part of the plan, and some weren’t, and I do think
that helps make the numbers higher!
There’s also the fact that some of these ladies lost KILLER inches in
addition to their scale numbers, and their photos speak for themselves:

So…between the 9 of us, we lost 62.6 pounds in 3 weeks! I
think that’s pretty incredible personally!

This program? It’s a game changer, no question about it!

If you've been stuck in a plateau, are brand new and don’t
know where to start, at the end of your journey and need to figure out how to
make this a lifestyle change…this program is for all of you!

I have another group that started on 4/7, and even though
they’re not done yet (they finish on Monday), this is what a few of them had to
say:

Katie:

This weekend (after
Easter) I fell off the wagon. Hard core. No excuses, I made my choices and
can't take them back. I was needing a little motivation today and I knew the
scale wasn't going to give it to me… So, I did my measurements. I am shocked
and very proud to share I have lost a total of 13.5 inches off my body in 2
short weeks!! This accomplishment is far greater than a scale number for me!

Stephanie:

I am blown away by the
results I am seeing with the 21 day fix! I started out at 150.0 my goal weight
has been 145 and I have been working for over year to break out of the 150's. I
briefly saw 149 in December but haven't seen the 40's since. My body just
seemed really content in the 50's. My starting weight was 220lbs and my goal
was 145, I never actually thought I would ever get there just because I've
never seen 1-4 anything on the scale in my adult life. Well this morning I am 3
lbs UNDER my goal weight. I'm so close to the 130's and that's something I never
ever thought possible. I didn't even dream of being in the 130's because it was
so far-fetched, but on this program I think it's totally attainable. The best
thing is I haven't been hungry at all and I haven't been killing myself doing
hours of cardio everyday like before. I've even had birthday cake and ice
cream! I can't wait to take my measurements and after pics!

These results? This progress these women are seeing? These
accomplishments? THIS is why I love being a Beachbody coach!!

If you want more information about the next 21 day fix
accountability group I’m running, feel free to shoot me an email at babebeforebaby@gmail.com, I would
love to work with you and help YOU reach your goals!!

Apr 18, 2014

So I was thinking: Easter is coming up on Sunday, and while
I know that you can’t possibly out-exercise a bad diet, I thought I’d challenge
you to keep your Easter Candy indulgences in check by making you WORK for every
piece of candy you have! I’m not saying you can’t indulge, but you might pay
for it in burpees! So…here’s the
challenge:

For every (1) piece of candy you eat, there is an associated
exercise “penalty”. I’ll be running this
challenge on Instagram, so use hashtag #easterchallenge and tag @babebeforebaby
so I can see how much candy you ate and how many exercises you had to do!

(1)Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg (or PB cup) = 15 burpees

(1)Peep= 5 push-ups

(1)Chocolate egg (regardless of the filling)= 5
jumping jacks

(1)Mini Bag of M & Ms (or a small handful)= 5
squats

(1)Mini Bag of Jelly Beans (or a small handful)= 10
crunches

(1)Hollow Milk Chocolate bunny = 10 front lunges,
each leg

(1)Misc: Any candy that’s not listed above: 30
seconds of wall sits for each piece

At the end of the day, holidays and special events that are
focused on food will always be there, so you can’t always avoid those
situations. Find a way to incorporate them into a healthy
lifestyle and you’ll always come out stronger on the other side! Who’s ready to
take on this challenge???

Apr 14, 2014

So it's time for a little confessional….I was not exactly “on
point” with my eating last week.

I traveled 2 separate days for work, making my pre-prepared
meals useless since I was on the road.

I also was a bit more social this past weekend, which is
something I certainly “suffer” from when the weather gets nicer like it did
these past few days.

Let’s start with Friday: one of my closest friends and
co-workers announced she was leaving the company. We decided to go out for drinks after work to
celebrate her new chapter (an mourn our losing her).

I had wine.

I had popcorn.

I had nachos.

And I don’t regret it, not even a little bit.

Because I wasn’t going to sit there and sip on water for 3
hours after work and starve myself (no, there were no other options by the way,
it’s a bar, there’s no such thing as a finger food salad unfortunately). I tried to be conscious of my portion sizes,
but I was enjoying my friend’s company, and we won’t be able to do this
together in just a few short weeks so I’m not going to tell her I can’t go have
a drink right now because I’m trying to do the 21 day fix perfectly.

Then we move to Saturday.
And a special sleepover with my niece, who doesn’t get to do this very
often.
I was totally 100% on point all day, and we went to Panera for dinner, so I ate
a salad that was well within the guidelines of the eating plan (I did have some
dressing though, I’m a rebel!), and then we stopped for some frozen yogurt to
have while we watched “Frozen” together before bed. Could I have skipped the frozen yogurt?
Sure. But I decided instead to just be conscious
of my portion sizes and enjoy the time I was spending with my niece instead of
fretting about what I was putting into my mouth.

Now comes Sunday, and we took my niece out to breakfast; I
stuck to the plan and got a spinach and feta egg white omelet, cooked in pam,
with one slice of dry wheat toast that I added a little Peanut Butter to, and
skipped the homefries.

Sunday’s weather was downright gorgeous, and we went
downtown for the HUGE parade the state was throwing for the Huskies after both
the Men and the Women’s team won the championships.

What else do you do in warm, sunny weather
but be outside with a nice cold beer?

So yes, I had a Coors light (just 1!) and after being on our
feet ALL day and walking through the whole city, we stopped for dinner.

That meal was probably my biggest “cheat” because frankly I
was starving and a salad just wasn’t going to cut it. I chose a turkey wrap with avocado and mozzarella
(no mayo), which wasn’t bad, but for my side I chose the sweet potato fries
which in hindsight I probably shouldn’t have gotten (possibly my only real “regret”
this past weekend).

I tracked everything I ate, stayed WELL within my calorie
ranges each day, and was active with my workouts and other activity each day.

And you know what? The scale is up a ridiculous amount
today. The moral of the story? SODIUM IS
THE DEVIL.

There’s a reason that eating at home is more beneficial to
weight loss, and it’s not just the calorie and portion control, it’s that you
can control the amount of sodium intake too.

I’m obviously bloated this morning, it’s my TOM this week,
and I’m a little cranky at the scale number, but I’m not going to let it stop
me from making this week awesome. I will
NOT let a little sodium ruin my day, and I WILL see a lower number on the scale
in just a few days after the sodium levels in my body even out, so I’m not
going to stress. I’m going to keep on forging
ahead, because life happens, and imperfection is ok, so long as you don’t let
it derail you from your journey.

Apr 7, 2014

Just like the title says, I'm officially done with the first week of my second round of the 21 day fix.

I'm happy to report I'm down 4 pounds and 4 inches in that 1 week!

Admittedly, I gained a bit back right before starting my second round, but I'm hoping to make some serious scale progress these next 2 weeks and get to an all time low on the scale, but we'll see!

I'm also super stoked because my group of challengers this round is doing AMAZING! After one week, I've got one who's dropped 7 pounds! Two others have dropped 4 pounds, and yet another two have tightened their belts by a whole notch.

This program takes the guess-work out of weight loss, and for that I really love it. No counting calories or carbs or elimination of entire food groups. Just simple eating, 30 minute workouts, and serious scale results, what more can you ask for?

I have another challenge group starting on 4/21 (the day after Easter) and if you're interested in joining me, you have to place your order by midnight TONIGHT! Comment below or shoot me an email at babebeforebaby@gmail.com if you're interested, I can't wait to see what the next 2 weeks bring!!

It’s time to buckle down people, summer is just around the
corner and if you don’t put the effort in now, you’ll find yourself suffering
through another summer of hiding behind long pants and baggy clothes when you’d
really love to be wearing short shorts or a bikini!

I mentioned on Friday that I purchased a body fat analyzer
in an effort of focus on something other than the number on the scale.

I took my measurements and start weight on Monday since I’m
starting another round of the 21 day fix, and after a little (OK a LOT of indulging)
this past weekend, the scale was up as expected, but I was pretty surprised at
how high my body fat actually was….I’ve never measured it before, but I thought
I had a good amount of muscle, and it turns out I was pretty wrong.

My number was 29.2% (YIKES!) Now don’t get me wrong, that’s
still within the “average” range…but I would love to be on the low end of that
average, or even better, in the “Fitness” category. I know these hand held analyzers can be
pretty far off, but I figure if I measure under the same conditions each time
it should at least show my progress.

I’m pretty new to this, so I have no concept of how long it
will take me to drop body fat percentage, but my goal number is 24%, a 5%
reduction from where I am now.

I’m on day 2 of the 21 day fix, so that will help in the
nutrition category for sure, and I’m supposed to get PUMP in the mail today, so
I’ll start adding a few of those workouts each week to work on building more
lean muscle.

So my ultimate goal this April? SWEAT.

I challenge you to do the same. 30 minutes of sweat inducing exercise, for
the next 30 days.

Anyone can put in 30 minutes of work each day, no excuses,
right? I don’t care what the exercise is, just do it, and earn your shower each
day.

Use #30for30 on IG, and tag me in your posts so I can keep
up with your progress!